While we all wait on bated breath for this weekend’s superfight-ish battle between Frankie Edgar and Urijah Faber, the UFC would kindly like to remind us of another, even more hyped showdown on the horizon: That of Conor McGregor and Jose Also. It’s been awhile since the pair’s antics during the UFC World Media Tour captured our attention, and as such, the UFC released a brand spanking new trailer for UFC 198 earlier today — as if to say, “Hey, neither of these guys have gotten injured yet! And they still hate each other!!”

Like the True Detective teasers before it, each trailer for UFC 198 seems to be better than the last one, so check out the promo above and remember: If this fight gets cancelled, we riot.

Yesterday’s Fight Night 66 media day workouts was a landmark occasion for a variety of reasons. Not only did it kick off the UFC’s first ever trip to the Philippines ahead of this weekend’s fight between Frankie Edgar and Urijah Faber — which is being hailed as “the closest thing to a superfight we’ve had in some time” (!!!!) — but it also set the stage for the UFC to introduce its first-ever Filipina ring girl. Please, try and contain your excitement.

That ring girl was none other than Red Dela Cruz, a popular Filipina model and PXC ring girl who was chosen from a pool of a couple hundred applicants as part of the UFC’s Asia Ring Girl search. A monumental occasion, indeed. In any case, check out our favorite photos (plus a bonus video) of Ms. Cruz after the jump, and make sure to follow her on Instagram and Twitter.

(If you’re the UFC, I guess the answer is “Not for your fighters.” HI-OH!)

By David Golden

A week has passed since the pay structure of the UFC’s exclusive Reebok sponsorship was made public, and the immediate reaction to the deal from both fighters and fans seems to be…let’s say less than positive. Matt Mitrione and Brendan Schaub were among the vocal minority who seemed completely shocked by the figures, and it’s easy to see why. The structure of the deal effectively turns off an important revenue stream for many fighters and gives them a stipend that is predetermined and minimally effective in many cases. Making matters worse, outside brands have not only been banned as sponsors from UFC events but will no longer be able to participate as vendors at UFC fan expos.

This might have been the saving grace for some fighters hoping to bring in additional income, but that outlet has also been blocked. There has been talk of some secondary sponsorship coming some time down the road but all signs point to that being controlled by the UFC as well. If there isn’t an opportunity for fighters to source their own sponsorship or at least make the money they believe they are worth, then this deal could turn out to be disastrous for the UFC.

(It was at that point that the once bloodthirsty Adelaide crowd, draped in tattered shawls and dirtied robes, began to cry out for mercy. via Getty)

We’ve had the discussion a million times over. Probably more. When a fighter loses the ability to protect himself — whether out of stubbornness, pride, stupidity, or some combination of the three — it falls upon the referee, or his cornerman, or the ringside physician, to do it for him. “A fighter is his own worst enemy,” we so often say, cheaply dismissing a much bigger issue that impacts all combat sports while doing next to nothing to ensure that these fighters can actually be saved from themselves.

Fight Night 65 was, if nothing else, a continuation of our cultural apathy for fighter safety, gently tucked beneath a guise of momentary outrage and Twitter rants. It was the kind of card that would’ve made Matt Saccaro dismiss us all as purveyors of a barbaric bloodsport wherein the costs highly outweigh the gains, were he still covering MMA. (Thankfully, a former governor surfaced to pick up his scraps.)

As everyone reading this already knows by now, the UFC Light Heavyweight championship has been vacated due to a recent hit and run incident involving Jon Jones that left a pregnant woman with a broken arm and other injuries. The news comes as…well, not very shocking to anyone that has been paying attention to the behavior of the former champion and it seems that his history of bad behavior has finally caught up to him as the UFC has stripped him of his title, removed him from their rankings and have “indefinitely suspended” him from competition.

Today we’re going to take a look at the effects that this incident has had in a fun segment that I’m stealing from former CP alumni: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

You see, Ryan Bader was all set to face Daniel Cormier in the main event of Fight Night 68 (aka Fight Night NOLA) in June. It was a fight that “Darth” would have not only won without breaking a sweat, but one that would have made him the light heavyweight division’s clear #1 contender and set up a rematch with Jones, which again, is a fight he would have come out from practically unscathed. LALALALALA CAN’T HEAR YOU!!!!

But now thanks to Bones’ inability to call an Uber, Bader’s originally scheduled opponent for Fight Night 68 has been scooped up to face Anthony Johnson for the now vacant title at UFC 187. Bader, on the other hand, has been scratched from Fight Night 68 altogether. I can think of no greater injustice in recent memory that even compares to the situation poor, poor Ryan Bader has put in. Other than, you know, the pregnant woman whose vehicle was struck by a famous mixed martial artist…who then proceeded to flee with no regard for her well-being.

(The Johnson vs. Cormier promo for UFC 187. We haven’t watched it yet, but drink if the word “monster” is used at any point.)

Afternoon, Nation. It’s been a hell of a week for our fine little sport, amiright? Some bad things happened, some other bad things happened, and depending on how you feel about Jon Jones, some either earth-shatteringly terrible or world-affirmingly wonderful things happened as well. So join us after the jump as we recap the week that was while trying not to cry into our whiskey drink. What? IT’S FRIDAY AND WE NEED THIS, NATION.